Yeah it's sad that it has finished.. It was always going to be difficult to survive in such a small physical market (only 2 countries had teams at the end). I'm amazed it lasted so long mind you, esp after the team in London ceased to exist. Just shows you, I don't believe there is a real market for football in Europe.

The one/maybe 2 regular season games coming from the NFL per year will be popular alright but thats about it. The rest of the time we will have to be happy with Sky Sports coverage and the (very) occasional trip to the US to see a game live.

Thanks to the poster above who listed some of those players that came thru NFLE to the NFL, amazing so many good ones who were missed out on by those many many scouts.

Thanks to the poster above who listed some of those players that came thru NFLE to the NFL, amazing so many good ones who were missed out on by those many many scouts.

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Actually, NFLE as a developmental league was not very successful. That is mainly because scouting is much more thorough these days; every team has a long list of undrafted guys they go after, very few players will "fall through the cracks".

Additionally, working out at the team's facility during the offseason has become the norm. Team's feel they can do a better job of developing a young player by working with him directly, as opposed to sending him to NFLE, to get game experience against players with sub-par talent.

Maybe ..... or maybe the NFL is considering starting their own developmental league in the US in medium sized cities?

pft.com - rumormill - has suggested that, but I'm not sure I buy into all they are pushing.

MOMENTUM FOR NFL MINOR LEAGUE BUILDS

Once upon a time, pro football agent Ron Del Duca wrote an item for this site advocating the replacement of NFL Europe with a true minor league system.

More than three years after the fact, reality could be catching up with Del Duca's idea.

Under the plan first proposed by Del Duca back in 2004, NFL Europe would be scuttled. In its place, a true NFL minor league would be created, and it would play games in the fall. The system would allow NFL teams to allocate players to the minor league, and call them up as needed.

We're now told that a growing number of NFL management types are in favor of launching such a venture. The value is that the players would be able to fully participate in the offseason program, and then get live game reps during football season, at a time when they otherwise would be hanging around and waiting for guys on the 53-man roster to get hurt.

The teams would be based in cities that don't currently have NFL teams, and every team would allocate its practice squad to the minor league. With 32 NFL franchises having eight guys on their practice squads, that's 256 players right out of the gates. The rest of the minor league could be made up of guys who have yet to make the cut in the pros, and who otherwise might be fodder for the soon-to-be-former NFL Europa.

Eight teams would be an ideal starting point, and the games could be played in the middle of the week. Since Tuesday and Wednesday evenings typically feature no college or pro football broadcasts, a middle-of-the-week television schedule would be ideal.

One of the potential barriers to the creation of a true NFL minor league is the reported plan of a new league, the UFL, to drop teams in several non-NFL cities and lure some of the same guys who would otherwise be courted by the NFL's junior circuit. The mere establishment of an NFL minor league could be interpreted as a sign that the NFL is worried about the UFL, and the NFL won't want to create that impression.

So while we believe that it's a great idea to develop a true NFL minor league, we think that it won't happen unless and until the coming UFL experiment crashes and burns.

In other words, the NFL minor league will launch in 2010.

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I don't think the NFL would allocate its practice squad to the developmental league. Those 8 guys are essential for weekly practice. They are basically the scout team when installing the game plan. Also, those 8 bodies serve to fill out an 11 on 11 drill if a team is holding a few injured players out of practice during the week. Coaches have gotten used to having those players for practice.

The practice squad guys also provide an instant addition for the roster if a player goes on IR. They already will know the playbook and the coaches will be familiar with their practice habits. Signing a player off the street, or if this new developmental league starts, will require at least a few weeks for the player to get up to a basic level understanding of the offense/defense scheme and plays.

Maybe ..... or maybe the NFL is considering starting their own developmental league in the US in medium sized cities?

pft.com - rumormill - has suggested that, but I'm not sure I buy into all they are pushing.

I don't think the NFL would allocate its practice squad to the developmental league. Those 8 guys are essential for weekly practice. They are basically the scout team when installing the game plan. Also, those 8 bodies serve to fill out an 11 on 11 drill if a team is holding a few injured players out of practice during the week. Coaches have gotten used to having those players for practice.

The practice squad guys also provide an instant addition for the roster if a player goes on IR. They already will know the playbook and the coaches will be familiar with their practice habits. Signing a player off the street, or if this new developmental league starts, will require at least a few weeks for the player to get up to a basic level understanding of the offense/defense scheme and plays.

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No way would I, if an owner, risk my practise squad people in a minor league schedule. This ain't baseball where severe injuries aren't that common. Practise squads are for developing players to learn and fit into the team's system. Why would I want my guys to be taught a different system and then play in that system during my season? I'd have to unschool him before I actually got him ready to play for my team. The only way I would even think about this is if I wholly owned the minor league team, so I could dictate the offensive and defensive systems and had the freedom to move the players back and forth between teams a few times without exposure to wavers like they do in baseball. Since there isn't enough market room for another 32 teams, I don't see how this would work. The only other way would be a minor league system in which players cut by teams went into the league and became available league wide in a supplemental draft in the spring, with the team owning the rights to a few players to reserve for themselves for recall without draft exposure. All the minor league players could be draft eligible if you removed the necessity to clear wavers for your practise squad. The more systematic way of playing football makes toing and froing like baseball's hard to manage. It'd be like shifting snare players between different drumlines. Basketball is also flexible enought for movement back and forth between teams, but guys still have more to adapt to with the coaches and other players on the court than they do on the diamond.

No way would I, if an owner, risk my practise squad people in a minor league schedule. This ain't baseball where severe injuries aren't that common. Practise squads are for developing players to learn and fit into the team's system. Why would I want my guys to be taught a different system and then play in that system during my season? I'd have to unschool him before I actually got him ready to play for my team. The only way I would even think about this is if I wholly owned the minor league team, so I could dictate the offensive and defensive systems and had the freedom to move the players back and forth between teams a few times without exposure to wavers like they do in baseball. Since there isn't enough market room for another 32 teams, I don't see how this would work. The only other way would be a minor league system in which players cut by teams went into the league and became available league wide in a supplemental draft in the spring, with the team owning the rights to a few players to reserve for themselves for recall without draft exposure. All the minor league players could be draft eligible if you removed the necessity to clear wavers for your practise squad. The more systematic way of playing football makes toing and froing like baseball's hard to manage. It'd be like shifting snare players between different drumlines. Basketball is also flexible enought for movement back and forth between teams, but guys still have more to adapt to with the coaches and other players on the court than they do on the diamond.

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I would not discount the idea so readily.

The practice squad can always be increased in size which effectively deepens the talent pool along with the NFL Europe scrubs.

As an owner, if one could have access to grooming talent seems to be a no-brainer.

Chris Brown, of BuffaloBills.com, reports Buffalo Bills WR Daunta Peterson (knee) suffered a knee injury in the Rhein Fire's last game of the NFL Europa season.

Bills | Denney tore ACL in NFLE
Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:40:21 -0700

Chris Brown, of BuffaloBills.com, reports Buffalo Bills WR Chris Denney (knee) tore an ACL in his knee during NFL Europa training camp. Denney will not be able to play in the 2007 season.

...........Looks folks, the way I read this (and this is not part of el linky) is that Ralph Wilson got revenge before he croaked. He is one of the only owners who is claiming to be getting sodomized by Gene Upshaw and Goodell's henchmen not to mention the last CBA agreement in which he voted against.

Watch as this story unfolds from the dungeons and bowels of my mind. :icon_eek: :yes:

Maybe ..... or maybe the NFL is considering starting their own developmental league in the US in medium sized cities?

pft.com - rumormill - has suggested that, but I'm not sure I buy into all they are pushing.

I don't think the NFL would allocate its practice squad to the developmental league. Those 8 guys are essential for weekly practice. They are basically the scout team when installing the game plan. Also, those 8 bodies serve to fill out an 11 on 11 drill if a team is holding a few injured players out of practice during the week. Coaches have gotten used to having those players for practice.

The practice squad guys also provide an instant addition for the roster if a player goes on IR. They already will know the playbook and the coaches will be familiar with their practice habits. Signing a player off the street, or if this new developmental league starts, will require at least a few weeks for the player to get up to a basic level understanding of the offense/defense scheme and plays.

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I think there is room for an upstart league that is totally independent of the NFL, in fact there should be one. Most of the college ball players don't have many options after their school career is over, unless they did earn a degree worth the paper is printed on.

I don't think it would be a very sound business plan to try and go head to head with the monster (NFL) but they could draw in non NFL cities, put a few guys to work and make a little money.

Just as NASCAR rules racing in this country (second most watched sport) One can go to a local track in just about any city USA on a Friday or Saturday night and watch a race. It's not big money when compared to NASCAR but they draw and the track owners do make a profit.

Something above the college level and below the NFL would be fine. If it grows from there, well then the NFL would have that to worry about.

The practice squad can always be increased in size which effectively deepens the talent pool along with the NFL Europe scrubs.

As an owner, if one could have access to grooming talent seems to be a no-brainer.

This is about marketing a product.

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I suppose you could pool the practise squads into some minor league teams, but I would demand open access to the players I had the rights to. The problem for me is, if your players aren't practising with your team and against NFL quality talent, how do you get them in playing form? They won't know the playbook, they won't know the nomenclature and they still won't have experience with the NFL pace of things. In the current system, the practise squad guys are just that, they're an integrated part of the team. In baseball, a good shortstop is a good shortstop. In hoops, a good paint man is a good paint man. They go to a team, the shortstop just needs a uniform, the paint man just has to adjust to new guys. In football, everyone has to be on the same page right away. There's a whole system to not only absorb, but execute without screwing up or taking time to think instead of reacting. I can't get around the uptake of new players out of the minors onto an NFL roster, especially if they have to play. A separate league with a separate supplemental draft of cut players, while preserving the practise squads could work. The NFL could draft these guys from the minors in another supplemental after the college draft. Better yet, they could become part of the free agent pool post draft, but I would want to maintain supervision of my practise squad. I suppose you COULD increase the size of the practise squad, with some staying with the team and the reaminder in the minors, that way you could acclimate the guys from the minors to the team behind the guys who were activated.